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New Claviceps species from warm-season grasses

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Abstract

Eight undescribed species of Claviceps were recognized from the combinations of molecular and morphological characters. The teleomorph was observed only for Claviceps setariicola. Phylogenetic affinities of the new species inside the genus were revealed by a 5.8S-ITS-28S nrDNA analysis. Claviceps chloridicola, C. tenuispora, C. setariicola and C. setariiphila are related to C. maximensis; C. truncatispora is a sister species to C. pusilla. Claviceps clavispora and C. langdonii cluster with species colonizing maize and sorghum. The position of C. loudetiae is unclear. Comparisons with herbarium specimens showed C. setariicola as a well-established species on Setaria spp. in the southern USA. C. tenuispora was recorded on Cenchrus and Pennisetum in Brazil, USA, and Zimbabwe. C. setariiphila was found on S. geniculata in Brazil. C. chloridicola, C. loudetiae and C. truncatispora occurred in African savannas on Chloris, Loudetia, and Hyparrhenia spp., respectively. C. clavispora was found on Paspalum sp. and Urochloa sp. in Mexico and C. langdonii colonized Dichanthium spp. in the southern USA and probably in Mexico. The occurrence of C. pusilla on pearl millet in the USA (Texas) is reported and the record of C. sulcata on Urochloa brizantha in Brazil is confirmed by nrDNA sequence comparison with an African herbarium specimen. No alkaloids were detected in sclerotia and/or sphacelia of the new species.

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Acknowledgements

The investigation reported here was partly supported by the Institutional Research Concept AV0Z50200510, by the grant 206/97/0611 of the Czech Grant Agency and partially by Sorghum, Millet and Other Grains CRSP (USAID). Thanks are due to A. Glatzle, N. W. McLaren, J. L. Reilly, E. M. Reis, M. Ryley, and R. Velasquez for sending us the specimens of ergotized grasses and reference strains and to the curators of CABI Bioscience Herbarium (Egham, UK), Herbarium Hamburgense (Hamburg, Germany), and US National Fungus Collection (Beltsville, MD) for specimen loans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology of the ASCR, v.v.i., Vídeňská 1083, 142 20, Prague 4, Czech Republic

    Sylvie Pažoutová, Milada Chudíčková, Jana Olšovská & Miroslav Kolařík

  2. Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 10345 State Hwy 44, Corpus Christi, TX, 78406–1412, USA

    Gary N. Odvody

  3. Formerly INTSORMIL, c/o ICRISAT Bulawayo Centre, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

    Debra E. Frederickson

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  1. Sylvie Pažoutová
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  2. Gary N. Odvody
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  3. Debra E. Frederickson
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  4. Milada Chudíčková
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  5. Jana Olšovská
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  6. Miroslav Kolařík
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Correspondence to Sylvie Pažoutová.

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Pažoutová, S., Odvody, G.N., Frederickson, D.E. et al. New Claviceps species from warm-season grasses. Fungal Diversity 49, 145–165 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-011-0102-4

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